Invest in the Future of 20 New Youth Leaders!

As we continue into fall - working in 15 schools through both our Fly By Light program and Mental Health program! - we’re proud to look back on a summer full of peace education, artistic expression, and community building.

Highlights from the third quarter of 2020 include:

• OCU Programs: One Common Unity has continued with virtual programming this quarter expanding our reach to the community. 
• Fly By Light Online: Throughout the summer, facilitators hosted community virtual FBL events: including a weekly “Music Monday” session with Princess Best, “Tune-In Tuesday” with Princess Best, “Mindful Art” with Tyler Grigsby, “Parenting by Light” with Princess Best and “Drop Everything and Dance” with Johnee Wilson. Over 300 community members across 65 hours of online programming, participants of all ages and from across the country tuned in for these special events. 
• Fly By Light National Training: During the week of July 20th-24th Session One which involved 20 hours of dynamic virtual training was completed.  Session Two which is an additional 20 hours of training is currently being held in October. We’re so grateful for the laughter, honesty, humility, courage and openness this cohort has brought us and their communities across the world. 
• Summer Social Justice Zine Workshops: Through four virtual workshops in August, nine students collaborated to create a Zine that brought awareness to a variety of topics. The Zine was composed of photojournalism, graphic designs to promote self-care practices during the pandemic, and also many poems whose themes revolved around domestic violence, managing emotions, new life, LGBTQ+ and self-care.
• Fly By Light: Five Years Later: On August 21st, OCU hosted the world premiere screening of Fly By Light: Five Years Later. We had the phenomenal youth showcased in our original documentary do a live Q&A post screening w/ special current FBL youth performances! 
• Mental Health Programming: In Quarter 3 - OCU clinicians provided  471 therapeutic sessions for a total of 353 hours of direct therapy.  In addition, our licensed therapists provided128 consultation sessions at their respective school sites. These sessions incorporated Tier 1 and Tier 2 services for a total 64 hours. 
• Funding Update: This quarter, we were so honored to receive grants from Philip L. Graham, Hattie M. Strong, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. OCU was also chosen by Rising Appalachia Music to be one of their non-profit partners for their Patreon campaign!  In addition, our online Mental Health Campaign fundraiser raised $9,661.  
• Celebrating 20 year history: To commemorate OCU’s years of service we are sharing 20 of our favorite stories that celebrate our first 20 years. Each story highlights a unique aspect of OCU’s programming, history, and impact. You can check out the stories shared so far here; #20Stories20Years campaign.

In addition, we’re excited to spend the fall on some of the following exciting initiatives: 

• Self-Care is The Best Care: A Virtual Experience for DCPS Parents presented by Fly By Light Facilitators. This is a monthly parent engagement event series dedicated to the wellness and support of parents in the DC Public School System.
• Mindful Art: Every Wednesday is a time to relax, unwind, and follow a calming guided art prompt. This is an all ages FREE community event open to anyone who registers up by emailing tyler@onecommonunity.org, this is drop in after you have registered once and been provided the link. 
• Dance By Light: Beginning in November, we will be hosting a weekly Friday dance party. This is an all ages FREE community event open to anyone who registers up by emailing johnee@onecommonunity.org, this is drop in after you have registered once and been provided the link. 

On behalf of our youth and staff, thank you for your support of One Common Unity. Because of you, we are able to continue building healthy, safe, and resilient communities through the transformative power of education and the arts. We couldn't do any of this without you, and we are so grateful for your support!